"Why they still sign the guys for 10 years and five years? It looks strange and look stupid and they right now say like, 'We want to cut salary and we want to cut everything.' And I think lots of (players), they're just not coming back if this happen," Ovechkin told DC-area media on Tuesday at the Capitals' practice center, according to The Washington Times.

The league wants to cut the NHLPA's' cut of hockey-related revenue significantly from its current 57-percent threshold. Its first offer was 43 percent and also came with a 24 percent salary rollback. Its counterproposal was a bit more equitable and traded the rollback for an escrow system that, though not a salary reduction, would accomplish some of the same goals.

Negotiations broke off last Friday, and no new talks are on the horizon.

"It's not reasonable to be here. You have to think of the future, you have to think of your family.”

Ovechkin, 26, is three seasons into a 13-year deal that pays him an average of $9,538,462—the highest salary cap hit in the NHL. He noted that the owners' stated labor goals didn't stopped them from signing players to megadeals earlier this summer.

The two-time Hart Trophy winner is coming off a 38-goal, 27-assist season; those 65 points were the lowest total of his career, though his goal-scoring made an upward move from the 32 he potted in 2010-11. He had a career-high 65 in 2008-09.